Time management has always been an interest of mine, but when I had four children in four and a half years, it became more than an interest, it was a matter of sheer survival. I couldn’t possibly do everything, so I had to learn to establish priorities, find creative ways to do the necessary things, and put everything else on hold.

Homeschooling moms everywhere face the same challenge, including how to juggle homeschooling, housework, cooking, mothering, some personal time, and being a good wife all in one twenty-four hour period.

We now have six children, tot to teen, and have always homeschooled. This year, we have children in all levels of schooling, including nursery school, kindergarten, elementary, junior high, and high school. I have even more reasons now to exercise creative time management skills. Here are some tips that have helped me over the years.

Time Management Tips

1. As each new year begins, write down priorities and goals. Once you have a working plan, you can modify it as needed, but this helps you feel more in control of your time. The goals will seem more manageable and you will feel less overwhelmed. You can’t do it all, so do the important things first.

2. Make sure the goals you set are reasonable, otherwise, you are setting yourself up for failure.

3. Simplify your life. Develop a system for keeping your house as neat as possible, at least in the important areas. Get the kids to help. Start them while they’re young. Lower your expectations. Perfection is not a realistic goal with children in the house.

4. Simplify your meals. Some of the most healthy meals are the simplest meals. During the homeschool year, we keep breakfast simple, with cereal or oatmeal and toast. Lunch is also simple, consisting of sandwiches or soup and fruit. The children also make their own lunches. Paper plates are used for quick clean ups. Dinners are kept simple on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Many times the children help prepare these meals. I prepare something more elaborate on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but even then it’s often something that I can put in the oven or on top of the stove earlier in the day and have ready for dinner without a lot of last minute preparation.

5. Declutter your home. To decrease frustrations, have a place for all homeschooling materials, such as pencils, papers, books, scissors, etc.

6. Work on children’s attitudes and training, don’t just let things go. Deal with them so they don’t get worse. Summer is a good time to train them to help out with household chores and cooking. Sometimes it’s necessary to take off for a day or two for training in these areas during the homeschool year. It’s important that our children learn to be responsible and realize that it takes the whole family working together to make our homeschool and household run smoothly.

7. Tackle the areas that bother you the most at first. Think of the ways you can avoid problems in the future and ways you can correct any problems now.

8. Don’t try to do too much all at once. Focus on one area at a time. For example, right now, my closets all need reorganizing and decluttering. A realistic goal has been for me to do one closet a week until they are all finished.

9. Take 15-30 minutes to do some of the dirty jobs that you’ve been putting off for ages, yet bother you every time you think about them. Clean one window, or one drawer. Then stop and get back to the normal routine.

10. Don’t nag your family about helping around the house. Instead, quietly, firmly, and politely tell them what you need done. In our home, children who don’t follow instructions when asked get added jobs or responsibilities.

11. Limit outside commitments. Trips take a large chunk out of your day. I try to stay home during the week as much as possible. It’s especially needed with small children in the household. If we go too much, it upsets their routine and it’s difficult to do schooling or housework.

12. Begin each school year early to allow time to take breaks when needed.

13. Watch your attitudes. They set the tone for the children’s attitudes.

14. Don’t feel guilty if your homeschool doesn’t sound as educational, organized, or perfect as your friends’ homeschools. Very likely theirs are not as perfect as they sound. They have their trials and struggles at times.

It’s very difficult to be objective about your own homeschool, especially if you are just beginning. Talk to other homeschooling families and get their perspectives. This should provide encouragement and give you some fresh ideas.

15. Don’t think that you have to tackle fifty projects and unit studies a year to be productive. There are many ways to learn and busy homeschooling parents can’t always work in all the projects they’d like to do, especially when there are younger children in the household. Elaborate unit studies and hands on projects are great, but you might have to limit them if you don’t feel you can handle them at this stage in your homeschooling adventure.

Field trips are also something that some families have a difficult time scheduling during the busy homeschooling months. We try to do some in the summertime when things are less hectic.

What is your best time management tip?

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Tamara Eaton and her husband have always homeschooled their six children (elementary through high school and beyond!) and enjoy encouraging other families in their homeschooling, parenting and in the Lord!

5 Comments

You are right that homeschooling is different for every family. Most families take a while to find out what works best for them. In my experience most people exist somewhere in the middle of this range, using a mixture of curricula, classes, co-ops, clubs, groups, field trips and free time.

Great tips! “Success” may mean a closer relationship between parents and children, and perhaps a talent discovered in carpentry, nursing, or clothing design. These family lessons are priceless and can only be taught at home, not in a public or private school setting.